A member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist organization is one of the key speakers and leading figures of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement-affiliated August 27-28 protest of the 125th anniversary of the first Zionist Congress event in Basel, Switzerland.
"Mohammed Khatib of Samidoun [Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network] will be speaking at this important event," the NGO Samidoun announced on Tuesday in promotion of the event. Khatib is listed as one of the main speakers in promotional materials, along with Palestine Action's Jodie Jones, Judische Stimme's Wieland Hoban, and with online speeches by academics Ilan Pappe and Noura Erakat.
While Khatib is described as a representative of Samidoun, Palestinian media has also received official PFLP press statements from him as a terrorist group spokesman.
In 2016, Quds News described Khatib as a PFLP activist in Europe. The Palestinian Information Center and Quds Press described Khatib as both a PFLP member and a Samidoun coordinator.
Khatib has previously shared terrorist content on his Instagram account, a video of his aunt training as a child soldier accompanied by supportive emojis.
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Samidoun, designated terrorist front
Samidoun was designated as a front of the PFLP in 2021. According to multiple sources, including the National Bureau for Counter-Terrorism Financing of Israel, Samidoun is led by Khaled Barakat, who has been alleged to be a part of PFLP leadership. Palestinian media and PFLP have also previously described Barakat as a PFLP leader. Barakat resides in Canada, where controversy has arisen over his residency.Samidoun regularly shares statements and press releases from the PFLP, and advocates for the release of PFLP terrorists from prisons.
"We condemn Switzerland and the city of Basel for celebrating an oppressive state and its racist colonialist ideology."
Samidoun call to action
While official BDS branches usually publicly decry affiliation with violent individuals and the promotion of violence, such as with the quarrel between BDS leadership and BDS Boston over The Mapping Project, nine official BDS subsidiaries have signed on as part of the "Counter-Congress" campaign.
125th anniversary of the first Zionist Congress
To mark the 125-year anniversary of the first Zionist Congress, which was held in Basel on 1897, the World Zionist Organization will be holding programming at different sites related to the historic event.
According to counter-event promotion, the anti-Israel protests will be two days, counter-programming on August 27 and a demonstration on August 28.
"We condemn the holding of this celebration," said the campaign call to action shared by Samidoun. "We condemn Switzerland and the city of Basel for celebrating an oppressive state and its racist colonialist ideology. We, the Palestinians living in Switzerland and we, the supporters of the Palestinians call on the city of Basel to stop hosting the Zionist Congress and to acknowledge its responsibility for the establishment of the Israeli apartheid regime on stolen Palestinian land."Zvika Klein contributed to this report.